Should she call him?
by Razor-007
Summary: After the Christmas Bowl the empires strongest quarterback ponder's about a certain runningback, but does he feal the same?
1. Karin

**Disclaimer:**Eyeshield 21 is the property of Inagaki Riichirouand Murata Yuusuke and not mine.

Should she call him?

The grounds of Teikoku were solemnly quite this afternoon. The finish to the Christmas Bowl had been a dramatic and very emotional experience for both schools and all the players involved, but now it was over for another year and the spring season was what was fresh in their minds. However one player was notably distracted the Alexander's star quarterback Koizumi Karin.

The petite quarterback sat in the library overlooking part of the schools entrance. People walked in and out of the school; some were large, some were small, but most notably however were the pairs that she saw. It seemed as though so many of her classmates had a significant other. All her female friends were either seeing someone or were enamored with one of her teammates and her teammates, well most were after someone, she on the other hand was experiencing what some would call a dry-spell. Normally she would have at least two or three boys ask her out each day, but lately they had been less and less "brave" and didn't seem to want to approach her as much. She was so use to turning them down that she hadn't noticed that she was missing what company they could have given her. She was by nature a shy girl who had only been thrust into the school spotlight with the help of her arm and a certain running back, but it had been good for her. It had gotten her out and about and made her just a little less shy and withdrawn.

Despite it being only a few days after the Christmas Bowl Karin had been more and more outgoing at school, even joining the art club and making more female friends, which before she had been sorely lacking, but still something was missing. She tapped her pencil against her drawing pad and looked at the dark charcoal picture she had only recently completed. The picture depicted two towering warriors battling, both identifying themselves as 21. It of course was Karin's sideline interpretation of Yamato and Sena and their battle at the Christmas Bowl. Yamato had spoken very highly of him since and Karin had to admit that he was really just a male version of her. After the game as the Devilbats celebrated he had spoken to her. They were only together for what seemed like a moment but it was enough as Yamato filled in the blacks. He was sweet and kind and had a story that was so similar to hers. They had both been pushed into American football and were scared to death in the beginning, but soon they both grew to love and excel at it. She let out a small sign as she stared at her cell phone on the table next to she sketchpad. They had exchanged information as he had with most of the rest of the team and now she stared at his number in her phone.

Should she call him? Did he think she was anything more then an opponent? These questions and others ran through her head as she contemplated calling him and breaking another of her inhibitions and asking him if he would want to hang out sometime or go to the amusement park, or something else. Her palms sweated as she though about it. He was exactly like her with many of the same talents and mannerisms yet she still couldn't rectify it in her own mind. She hadn't told anyone yet, well not specifically, she had mentioned it to a few girlfriends and used no names. This had caused a stir as they all gossiped about the only boy that could catch her eye. They rattled off names trying to figure out his identity but were not successful, not that she would have responded if they had been. Then there was Yamato, who had told her, in the same stern and convincing yet friendly voice he had used to recruit her to the team in the first place, that she should simply take the chance and call her "mystery" boy before a certain roller blade wearing cheerleader beat her to it. She had flatly denied that she was talking about Sena but Yamato simply replied with "I never said anything about Sena." As he chuckled walking off the school grounds.

Karin had long since packed away her things and grasped at her coat as she began to leave for the day. Her brother was bringing his new girlfriend to dinner that night and she needed to help her mother cook dinner and finish her homework as well as put in her piano practice for the evening. She swallowed her pride and stopped at the corner. She pulled out her phone and hit the dial button for Sena. Her breaths became slightly labored as the rings went on and on until they stopped.

"Hello?..."


	2. Sena

Thank you all for the great reviews and a tremendous traffic on this story. I have decided to add a couple more chapters to it and explore other characters reactions as the relationship develops.

Chapter 2

The cool air wisped around the Demion campus as students walked about through the hustle and bustle of the season. The euphoria of their Christmas Bowl game was still heavy in the air as students everywhere discussed their American Football team and their come from behind victory that stunned the entire community. The campus was littered with flyer's recruiting players for the upcoming spring tournament that was only a few months away and unlike the team's last recruiting drive this one had all the signs of being a success. Many students had begun to take a more serious interest in the team and Sena had even heard that a few middle schools were visiting the school with students interested in attending the school come the New Year. Of coursed most of the schools would be accompanied by their Football team coaches and some select players who had taken an interest in wearing the red and black of the Devil Bats, in fact it was rumored that Hiruma already had enough talent lined up to have a full team and replace him, Kurita, and Musashi if his plans to allow third years to participate in club activities didn't work; and of course knowing Hiruma it would. The spring tournament was still a ways away but it looked like the Devil Bats would now a legitimate contender instead of their underdog status that had dogged them all last season straight through to the Christmas Bowl.

Sena walked quickly into the school being careful to avoid the mob that had gathered around him whenever he stood still for more then five minutes. With all the success of the team he had become an instant celebrity and people couldn't seem to leave him alone. The captains of every club, athletic or not, would grab at him and try to get him to play for their team or lend his newfound prestige to their club. He was a little more assertive then he was when he started going to Demion but he still needed a little protection. Hiruma couldn't provide it as he was mysteriously absent, which sent chill's down Sena's spine, so Kurita and Monta had to fill in. Girls on the other had were an even bigger problem, they would crowd him and begin to try and fill his calendar with dates and get together faster then he could say no. It was flattering and all as girls were never really going after him before, but it all seemed a little overwhelming.

Sena entered the weigh room after changing into some workout cloths and began his regiment. Soon after the Christmas Bowl Sena had began to seriously mold himself into an athlete. After seeing Kid go down and feeling the power of Shin's tackles it dawned on him that he needed to become stronger. Hiruma had snickered at him earlier and tossed a full workout regiment into his lap the day after the Christmas Bowl. Sena was now following the regiment to the letter both for his own gain and to stay on Hiruma's good side; if he had one. The regiment hadn't surprised Sena all that much as Hiruma was making all sorts of plans for their team. Outside the roar of machines could be heard as the new Devil Bats clubhouse was being built. The "Devil's den" as Hiruma had refereed to it would be nearly entirely underground existing underneath the old club house and leading out to the field that was also being equipped with new bleachers to accommodate the huge crowds that the principal was banking on, for now Sena had to use the school weight room until their new one was completed in a few months. Sena had been impressed with how soon Hiruma had come up with the plans and got the principal to layout the cash for it. The Devil's Den would be underground and contain everything that would help make the team great for generations to come. The weigh room would be large enough for a full team and exist just off of an indoor track. Of course a lavish team locker room and visitor's quarters were in place as well as brand new equipment and even an office for Doburoku. As Sena had been going over the plans he noticed several other things that made him smile slightly. There was a hot springs and shower area, a very lavish theater for planning game strategies and watching film and a casual room for the team to use as they pleased. The Den would be accessible from the old clubhouse and a set of huge intimidating doors that were in the lower level of the school; already students were beginning to stay away from where the massive Gothic doors were slated to go. So for now Sena would have to be content with the smaller weight room that was in the school.

He had finished with his legs for the day and began to use the free weights as he stiffened. The shrill giggles of girls could be heard patrolling down the hall, most likely looking for him, he stood silently as they went by with a hushed whisper. Letting out a low sigh he began to work on his arms, he had been specifically working hard on this area as Agon had basically told him he would break him in two come the spring and with more strength in his arms he figured he would be able to combat him more efficiently, of course he would also be a bit faster as well. These thoughts brought him to remember all the tough competition that would be coming after them in the spring and fall, mainly his thoughts fell to the player that surprised him the most. It was no surprise that the Alexanders had a formidable team stocked with the very best players in all of Japan and it was only reasonable to believe that their first string players were the very best of the best. Sena thought of Yamato and Taka who dominated their line and who he had become good friends with, but it was another of their offensive powerhouses that was in Sena's mind now; and her name was Koizumi Karin.

Karin was the Alexanders star quarterback and this alone had taken Sena for a loop. It wasn't that she was a girl, he himself knew how forceful and strong women could be, and it was more that he felt as though he was looking into a mirror that showed him what he would look like as a girl. She was shy and had been pushed into American Football like him, but just like him she was also amazing at it and had come to have a special place in her life for it. Sena had talked to her, although briefly, after the Christmas Bowl and found that, after only a minuet, he was completely comfortable around her which had never happened with a girl before. Perhaps it was that she was as shy as he was or that they had hit it off easily, or maybe he was just kidding himself and it was the fact that she was beautiful. Sena had found himself enamored with her and Yamato had noticed, after they had exchanged contact information Yamato had approached him and they had a small conversation, mostly about football but Karin did enter the picture. He had made it quite clear that Karin was amongst the most sought-after girls in all of Teikoku, of course this made Sena a little nervous but Yamato only smiled. Yamato continued their conversation with a small smile and added that despite her popularity and all the guys that asked her out she was single, and with that he turned with a smirk.

Sena had finished his workout and had toweled off and readied to go for the day. Tonight he had a rare day off and was going to be hanging out with Monta and Kurita. They had planned to watch a few movies at Kurita's and then go to practice the next morning. Sena smirked as the last time they and done this, only two days before, all Monta had done was talk about now being enough of a star to "snatch" Mamori and make her his girlfriend, and of course to do this he prodded Sena for all the information he could get from Sena about her. Sena on the other hand had found it quite annoying after the first hour, and after the second and third hour well he has downright pissed of; of course he didn't voice this which was something he though Kurita had noticed. Sena couldn't help but have his thoughts fallback to Karin. Sena didn't really understand why but she had invaded his thoughts and despite being nearly four hours away she seemed more attainable for him then any of the girls that were hunting him now. As he walked to Kurita's home he thought of all the girls that had come up to him in the past few days. There were older girls and girls his own age, and even some middle school girls; apparently he was developing a small following of girls like Sakuraba had during the spring tournament. This following slightly scared him as his experience with all girls amounted to the time he spent with his overbearing mother, his overbearing friend Mamori, or his easily excited friend Suzuna. All these girls weren't exactly helping him with his confidence problems when it came to girls, he could see the lights in his mothers eyes when a girl called or she heard he had been asked out and she ran around the house calling her friends to brag and with each girl it seemed a new wrinkle formed on his father forehead. With Mamori she seemed more mortified then anything and almost tried to chase away some of them or give Sena a stern lecture about the kind of women that he should be associating himself with. Sena pondered what Mamori would say if she knew he had been thinking of Karin as much as he had. He turned a corner and was nearly knocked on his butt by a group of giggling girls on roller blades, which took him to the third female in his life; Suzuna. When it came to Sena's now exploding female social life she was relatively silent. She would go red all the time and huff and puff now and then but generally she would side with Mamori. Sena chuckled as he knew she had a small crush on him as Hiruma had flat-out told him after the Christmas Bowl. Sena was flattered, but Suzuna was just a friend, he just didn't see her that way and it was hard not to let her know that he knew her secret, she had kept his so it was only right that he let her tell him in good time.

As Sena rounded the last corner he could see Kurita's home just a little ways down the road. As he walked his cell phone began to ring. He pulled it from his pocket and smiled at the name, it was Karin. Sena smiled, it was kind of nice that at the very moment he was thinking of her she was calling him. He had been far too nervous, despite his newfound confidence and the prodding of Yamato, to call her himself. Now she was calling him and he felt a surge on confidence fill him, as he continued to walk towards Kurita's home he answered it.

"Hello?…"


	3. Karin 2

Chapter 3

Karin closed her phone with a satisfying snap as she stood just outside the school gates. She let out a long held breath and shed a small shy smile that accompanied her now rosy cheeks. She wasn't sure if she had been more relieved or mortified when she heard Sena's voice on the other end of the phone. When she had decided to call him she was almost hoping to get his voice mail or even an out of service range message, but instead his voice greeted her on the other end. They had a small conversation and Karin could tell that Sena seemed as nervous as she had been and with this she calmed down just a bit. They had talked about football and school and the new semester and other trivial things that served only to make Karin more at ease with him. She was beginning to realize more and more exactly why Sena was paramount in her mind. He was the most polite boy that she had ever encountered, although this was not hard considering how inconsiderate and messy both her father and brother were; mostly her brother. Thinking of her brother she cringed at the state of the family bathroom that very morning. Sena was also quite interesting; while his stories paralleled hers closely his seemed so much more dramatic. He told her of his first game against the Koigahama Cupids and how he was so violently recruited onto the team. She in turn told of her first game and realized that all the anxiety she had felt was far less when compared to his. He had stepped onto the field with a hastily gathered group of players. He had no training and little if any real idea of what he was doing, while she on the other hand was just the opposite. She stepped onto the field with some of the best defensive protection in the country, a solid line of boys that looked to her for leadership on the field and rewarded her with great protection. While she had always been nervous at the start on each game she come to see that she had far less to be nervous about then she though that she had a kindred spirit in Sena who, like her, felt the same.

Their conversation had lasted so long that Karin had barley noticed that the bus had brought her home. Stepping off of the bus she walked into her yard still conversing with Sena. It was then that as she began to ask if he wanted to go out sometime, that he asked her to the amusement park that very weekend. She was shocked at first but quickly replied with a squeak of a yes hoping that her small silence hadn't discouraged him any; fortunately it hadn't. He chuckled slightly and they made plans to meet at the park, one close to her fortunately, that very Saturday. With a polite goodbye and a grin a mile wide on her face Karin entered her home.

It wasn't the largest home nor was it the smallest but it was home. Karin slipped her shoes to the side and hurried to the kitchen to help her mother. Karin's mother was unlike her daughter in many ways. She was a strong confident woman that couldn't understand why her daughter insisted on playing American football and not finding herself a good man. Karin always frowned when her mother brought this up and today was no exception. As soon as the pleasantries were out of the way she began to poke and prod; but this time she actually had a weapon to use. Karin let it slip that she had a date that weekend and her mother dropped the salad all over the floor. There were giggles coming out of her mouth as she helped her flustered mother cleanup what was suppose to be a lovely salad for dinner that evening. Once finished she quickly went to her room to finish what little homework she had. Her mother nearly chased her up the stairs to get more information but she was met only with a small smile on her daughters face and a door being shut in hers.

Karin chuckled as she finished her homework and began to play the piano in the other room. Her mother had tried to interrupt her work numerous times with cookies, make up and other things to attempt to pry the smallest detail from her daughter about her apparent suitor. Karin however saw through her attempts and shrugged her mother off. The piano music echoed through the home as Karin's fingers glided gracefully across the ivory and onyx colored keys. Here her mind was at ease even though she could just sense her mother at the doorway at times while she prepared dinner. It wasn't long before her father got home from work. He was a bank executive and worked hard so that his kids could have everything; a perfect example being Karin's grand piano that she had just finished with. A small kiss to his forehead and a polite "How was your day?" later her younger brother barged in the door with his latest girlfriend in toe. He was only a year younger then she but he was definitely at least ten years less mature then her. He was loud and boisterous and his new girlfriend seemed to match. He usually went through the girls at his school quite quickly and next semester he was ready to take the exam and go to Teikoku and he couldn't wait. It wasn't because it was an excellent school academically, socially, and athletically, no it was because he would have a whole new group of girls to try and date. This had been one of the reasons that Karin had always been reluctant to make female friends and the few she did have never came over when he was home. All of this made dinner rather eventful as her brother's new girlfriend Sakura or something, Karin never bothered to learn their names as they never stuck around for long, chewed her mothers salad with no manners allowing pieces to fall form her mouth every so often; of course this said nothing of her mother who had dropped the salad on the floor only an hour or so earlier. It was halfway through the meal that they had to leave for an emergency; which in her brother's lexicon meant go get busy at her place. Karin hadn't been sorry to see her go as her parents began to wager how long she would last whilst Karin cleared the table.

After the meal Karin had made her way into her art room for some quite contemplation. The small room held her drawing table and a multitude of her supplies and previous art, some of which her father had framed and hung on the walls. Her father had always loved her art and even had a piece on his office wall at the bank which apparently was greatly admired amongst his colleagues. She sat in her new custom designed chair and began to sketch, nothing in particular just random doodles and such. The chair felt so good against her skin and back. It had been a rather expensive and misguided gesture by her father to get her to not play American football. It turned out to be in vain as her father was thrilled after their first game of the season ended with her gaining 7 touchdown passes and only three failed pass attempts in a crushing defeat of the other team; it had also helped convince him because the bank's president was an enormous American football fan and Teikoku alumni himself. After that game her father transformed a storage room in their home into a gym and followed Karin's team very closely. He had been disappointed, just as much as she was, after the Christmas Bowl but he had given her a big huge and a small kiss telling her that next year they would crush their opponents. She smiled at her memories of this as her father was always a man who loved his children greatly; she could only imagine what he would put poor Sena through if he found out about their impending date. Silently she cursed hoping that her mother could, for once, keep her mouth shut. Her father had come in about an hour or so later telling her goodnight and went off to bed. She stayed up for another hour or so and then went to bed herself. She slid into her bed and closed her eyes to fall into a deep sleep filled with dreams of amusement park rides and running backs; well just one running back.


	4. Sena 2

Chapter 4

Sena closed his phone with a goofy smile plastered on his face. He had just made a date with the girl that had sat at the top of his thoughts for the past few days; Koizumi Karin. When he had answered his phone he heard her soft soothing voice on the other end and it had been a welcome spot in his day and their conversation had flowed so naturally. He told her about his first game and Hiruma's tactics to recruit him and she in turn told him about her first game and Yamato's recruitment of her for the Alexanders; it turned out that she was exactly like him in talent and fears. Before Sena knew what he was doing he had asked her out. It was a short moment before a squeak of a "Yes" came from the other end eliciting a huge smile from his mouth and quashing the fear of rejection that had started to grown from the pit of his stomach due to her silence. He made plans for that very weekend with her and as quickly as the call had come in. He had chosen a medium size amusement park near Karin that he had seen while he and Monta had done their little scouting mission before the Christmas Bowl. It was a place where hopefully they could have some fun and get to know each other a little better. He had also hopped that no one who knew her would see them; which was just the reason he had chosen to go to her instead of the other way around. It wasn't that Sena would have been embarrassed if he was seen on a date with Karin but for now no one knowing about their little rendezvous would most likely be for the best, and somehow he thought that Karin would probably agree with him. He could only imagine the commotion them being seen together would cause within her school and her team, but mostly Sena was thinking of the problems that would be caused closer to home; in Tokyo itself. If they had their date here then they would run a much greater chance of being seen together and Sena had a chill about the problems that would cause. He wasn't afraid, well maybe about what Hiruma might do, but he didn't want to expose Karin to anything that might make her uncomfortable. Sena knew that she was about as shy as he and that so much attention might cause some problems for what Sena hoped would be the first of many dates.

There was also the problem of the press that he skillfully needed to avoid less they cause a huge uproar. He could just see the cover of either of their respective school news publications or American Football Monthly; a picture of the two of them huddled closely together as they walked, hands together with her delicate fingers intertwined with his; this would most likely cause a riot. Sena could see the legions of girls hunting Karin to see what she had that they didn't and all the boys hunting him to see who had finally snagged a date with the elusive Karin. Then he would have to deal with his team who he was sure to get an earful from, Hiruma's bullets flying at his feet, Mamori eyeing him and insisting on him seeing someone else or that he wasn't ready for a real girlfriend, and Suzuna in the corner being as quiet as possible all the while her heart breaking inside and that was the last thing he wanted to do. These thoughts remained paramount in Sena's mind as he walked up to Kurita's house and prepared for his evening of relaxation. The copy of American Football Monthly caught Sena's eyes as it partially hung out of the family mail box. He had been bombarded by calls from the magazine that his mother was always so happy to answer. They had wanted a simple interview but Sena knew from exercise that it would turn into an all-out assault on him with each and every question diving deeper and deeper into whom Sena was; it gave him shivers like only Hiruma could. Sena had told them no several times but they were very persistent with one of their most prestigious writers, "Bomberhead" Kumabukuro, personally calling him. His most recent call had been that very morning before he was able to leave for school. He obliged the man for a few minuets and they discussed the possibility of a personal interview. Sena of course was polite and rather insistent that he was undeserving; however "Bomberhead" was just as persistent; so much so that he ended the conversation with a polite "possibly" to his request for an interview. The man had given Sena more information about the possible interview though and for that he was grateful; all his previous interviews had been filled with Eyeshield 21 things that Hiruma had made up and never really went to the heart of who was under the helmet. He had also admitted to Sena, although rather reluctantly, that the interview would really be his daughter Riko's interview although he would be there as well and that although it would be a full profile about him rather then just about his playing. Apparently the magazine, in addition to the Devil Bats Club house and his locker, had been overrun with fan mail addressed to him. The magazine had then decided that in addition to the normal interview they wanted to know what kind of people were part of making him who he was today, but most importantly they wanted to know what kind of girl could actually "catch" the elusive Kobayakawa Sena. This part of the possible interview made him especially nervous, even more so now that he and Karin were staring something and he knew that if she was as shy as he was that something like that could possibly ruin any chance that the two of them had at starting anything. He would just have to avoid it as long as possible, but he knew that the longer he stalled the more likely they were to ambush him at school or even worse his home. Sena could just picture coming home to his mother spewing out stories to the father daughter reporting team and gushing over all the girls that would come calling on him; and of course Riko being a girl would definitely not escape his mother's attention.

Sena had already entered Kurita's home and waved to his parents in the front room. He entered the back and was greeted by a grateful looking Kurita who seemed to be under siege by Monta, who was bouncing around the room like a monkey on sugar. His suspicions were confirmed as he saw a couple of empty energy drink cans lying around. Sena sighed Monta had always been naturally energetic and now seemed to definitely not be the time for it. The room that they had settled into was already laid out for them to sleep and in true fashion for Kurita, was filled with food. The trio spent their evening watching a couple of movies, mainly come from behind underdog sports films; who would have thought. They spent the rest of the night engaged in conversation, mainly about the upcoming spring tournament and eating copious amounts of food, despite having practice the very next morning. Monta continued to steer the conversation towards girls and apparently making Sena uncomfortable. He would keep asking for details about all the girls who were asking him out and seemingly trying to find out every facet of what was now a non existent love life. He also interrupted every so often with the occasional Mamori question as he messily scribbled down Sena's responses into a notepad he had mysteriously produced from thin air. Sena knew that this could only end one of two ways; bad or worse. Although there was a quick change of the conversations pace when Kurita's father came and told him there was a girl on the phone for him. The huge smile on his father's face was definitely not missed by either Monta or Sena. When he returned they had bombarded him with questions and the shy giant eventually conceited defeat. Apparently a rather cute third year girl from Seibu had obtained his number from Riku who of course had obtained it from Sena. Sena smiled as it was nice for the big guy to get some attention from girls especially with all of his causing some jealously from his teammates and the rest of the schools male population.

As the night drew to a close the three went to their separate beds and began to prepare themselves for the hellish practice that they were assured for the next morning. Fortunately for once Hiruma had threatened someone to Sena's personal advantage. His first class the next morning was though by a teacher who just happened to have a fairly large debt to Hiruma and this allowed him some sleep and a little wiggle room in his first class of the day. Sena just closed his eyes and tired to fall asleep whilst Monta started mumbling in his sleep and Kurita began to snore like a beast. Sena just cleared his head and started to drift off; his head filled with dreams of the spring season and a certain long haired blond quarterback with whom we had a date that weekend. In the dark a small smile crept onto Sena's face.


	5. Mamori

Chapter 5

Mamori strolled into the halls of Deimon holding in a small yawn as her Monday morning was about to begin. Her weekend had been hectic with a large amount of homework that only she seemed to have been assigned. She had suspected Hiruma was trying to make her busy to cover his tracks for something but she had no idea what. She had only gotten shivers down her spine when she tried to think of what Hiruma was doing while she had been busy with homework. She had done her best and actually finished by Saturday night but the rest of her weekend had been rather disastrous. She had tried to have a peaceful weekend and get together with her old friend Ayame but she apparently had plans with a string of different boys that weekend. Mamori was quit dejected at this because before entering Deimon she and Ayame had been close friends with no boys anywhere to be seen. Now though she went to school across the city and apparently the boys could not get enough of her. She hadn't seen her in nearly five months and was tired of simply trading e-mails, text messages, and phone messages between her and the girl with whom she was once inseparable from. Of course their last meeting had been far less productive then they had been in the past. Ayame had turned into far more of a girly girl then Mamori ever wanted to be; always obsessed with boys, makeup, and dates. It wasn't that she didn't want boys to be interested in her, quite the opposite actually, but with always worrying about Sena she never really had time. It slightly irked Mamori that Sena had become such a popular boy in school. The days of him needing her to protect him were long over; they had probably been over for much longer then she would like to admit to herself. Before Sena had been like a little brother that needed to be protected and helped through his life, she saw people like Hiruma only as sharks trying to use him to their own advantage, now though she had been totally cast aside as his protector and was simply Mamori, an old childhood friend. Now the American Football team acted as his main list of friends and they were there when he needed help instead of her.

She picked up her books from her locker and proceeded to her class. The room was filled with the chatter of a Monday morning as students got caught up on each others weekends. She would hear most of the boys laugh about this and that and a few sent glances her way while she walked to her desk. She sat as the conversations began to get slightly louder; she had been particularly intrigued by a group of girls that were chatting in front of her. Their conversation was quickly halted as the noticed Mamori and invited her into it; Mamori had politely said yes and smiles could be seen across their faces. This was another in a long line of groups of girls having conversations about one of her oldest friend; Sena. After he had shown his face at their victory over the Bando Spiders he had received nothing but attention from the school, and increasingly from girls. After the Christmas Bowl it had gotten even more intense and suddenly all the girls in school seemingly wanted to be the American Football Club's manager or her friend. She of course knew that most of them wanted these things simply to get a date with Sena, or in rare cases one of the other players. It had been overwhelming as almost every girl in school seemed to have some sort of attachment to the schools newest instant celebrity. Girls would fawn over him and trap him in corners of the school; it was quite disgusting if you asked her; and many of the boys who were now being ignored by the school's legions of girls. She had tried to sit aside like a good friend should and be happy for him but she just couldn't. She would constantly send girls away and tell them he was to busy, many were starting to think she was being way to pushy for only a friend. Mamori had taken great offence to that as Sena was just a friend and she had never really though of him in that way.

By this time the teacher had entered and began the day's lessons, but she allowed her mind to think of other things as he drowned on and on. She had tried to call Sena that weekend but she received no response. When she called his home his mother answered and couldn't contain herself. She had screamed something or other and was going on and on about how her little boy was making her so proud. Mamori had always pegged Sena's mother for the odd type but now she was definitely earning that title. His father ended up taking the phone from his hysterical wife and informing Mamori that he was out for the day; she couldn't help but feel a little dejected by his absence. She hadn't talked to him since the week before and she was so use to having him nearly glued to her. Less then five minuets later she had resolved to try his cell phone despite her brain telling her that she should just wait until Monday to talk with him. Her brain would have been right as all she got was his voice mail. She felt even worse after this as obviously he had turned his phone off and wanted not to be disturbed; she only figured this out after the tenth phone call and a half dozen messages. Mamori wasn't the type to back down though, she tried calling other people to try and track him down while she worked tirelessly at her mountain of home work. She scrolled through her phone's entire contact list trying person after person. Most knew nothing about Sena's weekend plans while a few gave her some bits and piece. Monta had passed out at her call and his sister needed to pick up his phone to talk with her. She had apparently interrupted Kurita on a date and had a batch of sweet rolls in her locker as a sorry present. Suzuna and her brother were even less help and Suzuna felt dejected that she had no idea about his weekend plans and her brother was complementing himself and spouting off crazy ideas like maybe Sena had a date. Mamori had chuckled at that one as he could hear Suzuna stomping on her brother for that comment. While Sena had many girls after him Mamori knew that before he went out with any of them he would most likely have talked to her; his only real female friend. Mamori also knew that Suzuna had a huge crush on her friend and that she would not let anyone beat her to him; she had even begun the process to be transferred to Deimon so she could begin the process of making Sena hers. This had caused an even greater laugh form Mamori as she though the spunky little cheerleader would definitely not be a match for her friend. Mamori never really pictured Sena with a girl but if he was going to get a girlfriend Mamori was definitely going to help hand pick her. After an hour and a half she had finally become dejected enough that she did something that she never thought that she would ever need to do, she called Hiruma. The phone had rung only once before his voice crackled on the line with a stern tone that, had she been anyone else then she would have hung up. She asked him the same questions that she had asked the others and only got a maniacal laugh, coupled with a "fucking manager". She had frowned at his tone towards her and began to berate him, but he had quickly put a stop to it and told her to mind her own business and that the "shrimp" had a life of his own. When she tried to ask what that meant she was once again meet with his laugh and what sounded like a large gun being loaded; he followed up with a simple statement to her. He said that Sena was having a good time and was in the hands of someone very capable; in very skilled hands that is, and then all she heard was the beeping of the dead line. She had tried calling him back but could never get a hold of him; he was probably screening his calls. She felt strange after that last call. It was definitely not like Sena to tell Hiruma and not Mamori what his plans were.

She felt rather sluggish at dinner that night and ate nearly nothing. Her parents had been slightly worried about her, but didn't pry into their daughters affairs; she kind of wished that they would sometimes. Sena had returned her numerous messages on Sunday late in the afternoon. He had explained himself as having just turned his phone on after his morning run that day. Of course he had some stupid reason for having his phone turned off all of Saturday; it had been so preposterous that she had let it slip in through one ear and out the other and now couldn't remember it. His call had lightened her mood a little but she had felt Sena was hiding something form her. The way he kept stuttering and leading her away from certain topics made her curious; he had been especially short sentenced when she mentioned talking to Hiruma. He replied that he needed to go and quickly she had a dead line in her hand once again. She had felt a tinge of curiosity and went to Sena's house; she told herself it was just to check on him but she knew better, she was curious. She was curious about exactly what he was hiding and she, for some reason, felt like she needed to know. She admitted that she hadn't been the best person at figuring out secrets, it had taken her months and Sena's own show of courage for her to find out that he was Eyeshield 21. She had arrived at his home and had been ushered in quickly by his mother who was continuously muttering something about Mamori being to late, but she shook it off as the ramblings of a mother with way to much time on her hands. Unfortunately when she entered Sena's room he had fallen asleep on his desk, so Mamori smiled and left allowing him to have his rest; she would grill him on Monday. As she walked home she began to ponder something odd that sat in Sena's room, to her knowledge it was new and definitely seemed to be out of place, it was a rather large stuffed female figure. It was about 60cm tall and rather large for a simple toy. The figure itself was a young women wearing what looked to be ancient Roman cloths; a toga. The plush toy was something that would be won at an amusement park game and wasn't really a Sena thing. She theorized that it may have been a result of his mysterious Saturday excursion; so she made a mental note to slip it into casual conversation with him on Monday.

Before she knew it the bell had rung and lunch period was there. She made her way out of class and to the outside table where Sena and the rest of the team usually ate lunch. Sure enough they were there and eagerly made room for her at the table. She had apologized to a grateful Kurita and gave him his rolls, much to his delight. The table was mainly abuzz with talk of recruitment for the team, which was due to start next week, and Kurita's date. The boys seemed especially excited about replacing Sena in his capacity as team secretary, as now he no longer needed to pretend and they could use the help. The boys seemed to want a nice classy girl for the role, like most other teams had. Apparently, as Mamori learned from pieces of information said by the man himself and various others, Kurita had a rather successful date that weekend. He was now preparing for a second date with a delightful third year girl from Seibu whom Riku had introduced to him. She apparently was a big American Football fan and simply loved his powerful blocks; Mamori had rolled her eyes at this as she could tell the girl hadn't thought of many good reasons for liking him but had obviously been attracted to him. She was going to become a chef and this alone had drawn in Kurita's heart and soul; oh and stomach. Her eyes slowly drifted towards the left of the table where Hiruma and Sena were having a conversation that looked rather interesting. She sneaked slowly to the end of the table and continued to look interested about what was happening at the table while she pointed all of her attention towards Hiruma and Sena trying to listen in on whatever she could pick up. Unfortunately what she could pick up was very little, but what she could hear made her go pale and shocked her deeply. There were many words that she could just hear over the other conversations like pipsqueak and Blondie. She could barley make out what they were saying to each other, but she could tell Sena seemed to be sticking up for himself and, surprisingly, Hiruma didn't seem to mind. She began to hear more and more until those faithful words slipped form Hiruma's mouth.

"So how was the rest of your little date?"


	6. Hiruma

Chapter 6

Hiruma popped is gum loudly as he sat in his large black leather chair. His desk was filled with papers and pictures culminating in a mess that usually would dwarf him, but today he seemed in a particularly good mood. His plan to blackmail the principal into allowing third year students to participate in club activities wasn't needed as he had made the decision himself. Hiruma had smirked at this little development as he simply used his blackmail materials for the construction of the Devils Den. The new clubhouse was exactly what the team needed, well that and a coach, which was what Hiruma was currently looking for. Doburoku was a great trainer but they needed an actual coach so that once he left, and to a lesser extent the other core players left, the team would be in good hands. Players were another thing that this year he wouldn't have to worry about as recruitment was basically doing itself and Hiruma would have a full team to captain in this his final year. Already he had been looking for a coach; whilst he was looking for players he had come across a name; Tsurugi Yamamoto. He was currently the coach in the Kansai region of a rather underrated middle school American Football Club. His team wasn't good, but they weren't bad and Hiruma could see the man excelling as Deimon's coach. He could just imagine the man's face when Hiruma would approach him with the offer of such a job. The prestige alone would probably make him do it, not to mention the rather impressive team base he had built, the new facility, and the good money he had gotten the school to agree to pay the man. When he had called the man he seemed rather interested over the phone so Hiruma was going to Osaka that very weekend to talk with the man and offer him the job. For once he had no real threats to use against him, but it didn't bother Hiruma all that much, everyone had something to hide and he always found out.

That weekend he took an early train to Osaka and went to meet him at a small restaurant. Hiruma wasn't there five minuets when he showed up. He was a rather tall man with a stern demeanor that suited the violent teen perfectly. His crisp suit showed that he was definitely interested but the lack of a tie and an unbuttoned collar gave the impression of a casual encounter and not the serious meeting that was about to take place. The conversation was light with the two exchanging some pleasantries as the food Hiruma had pre-ordered arrived. The man had the knowledge and the drive to build a championship team, Hiruma could see that if nothing else. He was also exactly as Hiruma had heard; disillusioned. His team had never been all that good and had never gotten past the third round of any tournament, despite his work. He was looking for a change, a chance to mold from the beginning and build the foundation that a team needed and with the Devil Bats about to begin their third season in a few months this was the optimal time to do so. Yamamoto had also been smart enough to watch a few Devil Bat games and offered some smart comments on the team's core players that almost mirrored Hiruma's thoughts; a small devilish smile crept across his face. After their meal Yamamoto had brought Hiruma to his school for practice, he stayed to the sides while Yamamoto ran practice; Hiruma had to admit that the man was rather good. His basic fundamentals and his way of teaching was just what a young team needed, plus he knew how to lose games and learn from it. Hiruma hadn't planned on loosing much, or at all, but that was always an asset. Near the end of the practice Hiruma had finally been spotted. One of the teams more astute players and noticed the Demon quarterback of Deimon sitting there scribbling notes and watching intensively with a hot coffee in his hands. Many became excited as they thought that maybe the Devil Bats were going to mimic the Alexanders and recruit some of them; no such luck. Hiruma had to admit there were a few players, who could have potential, but he was there today for a coach and a coach was exactly what he had found. The kids crowded around him asking questions and generally pissing him off, but one kid did in particular. He wasn't anything special but he seemed to have a drive to be there, the coach then pointed out that he was in his last year and was headed for Teikoku; possibly even onto their team. Hiruma chuckled as from what he had seen the kid probably could only make it to their third string, if he was lucky. Hiruma asked for a name and actually did a double take when he hear it; Koizumi Asuma. Koizumi was the family name of the Alexanders first string quarterback Karin, asking the coach he did confirm that the boy was indeed her little brother, but much more of a Lothario then a Football player was his assessment of him. Hiruma only chuckled, were the boy any good he would have reminded him of Agon.

Hiruma chuckled as they went to the coach's office to try and bang out a few details for the deal. His office however was a small backroom that smelt like it had been used as a storage closet. The two took a seat and the all out warfare began. Yamamoto was apparently well aware of Hiruma's reputation and he was going to play hardball with him. The two went back and forth for nearly an hour until his signature went on the contract. He had called his wife whom seemed ecstatic at her husband's new job and apparently the good pay as the young couple was expecting their second child in the next month. Hiruma had given the man a lot but he had also received a lot as well. While the school was going to be paying him slightly more then Hiruma had originally calculated they had locked him into a five year contract with some substantial perks and the possibility of a ten year extension. He was also getting the man a large house in the district for a fraction of what it was actually worth; Hiruma smirked, adulterers were always so easy to manipulate. With a firm handshake Hiruma began to leave and told Yamamoto that he was to report for work in two weeks and that he had better be ready to work.

Hiruma strolled through the city rather pleased with himself. With their new coach the team was now on its way back to the Christmas Bowl. It was a long ways away, both in terms of time and games but he knew that the fire to play was there and no one would stand in their way. Hiruma heard his stomach grumble and decided he needed some food to stop it before his train back to Tokyo later that night. He spotted a small amusement park and decided crap food was best for the situation. He walked right past the ticket booth with one women screaming at him while the other tried to inform her friend that it was a bad idea; he smirked, his influence had reached even here. Hiruma spent the rest of his time a shooting ranges in the park and food stands. It was about an hour or two into his little excursion that the noticed a small crowd dispersing from around a game. As he approached the game appeared to be an accuracy one with the player throwing footballs through many different targets. He could do that but his attention more so went to the lack of prizes. Apparently from what he overheard a young girl had won everything for the kids after her date had made a little bet with the game's unscrupulous operator. As Hiruma got closer to the dispersing crowd the saw the player in question laughing with a stuffed Devil Bat in her arms. Her date had a stuffed Roman woman in his hands while the shared a small laugh and finished a light kiss. Hiruma chuckled loudly causing the pair to turn. They both went pale as Hiruma slammed his little black book shut and walked up to them. He had never imagined that the pipsqueak could get any date let alone a girl like Koizumi Karin. The pair was rather nervous as the pipsqueak reintroduced the two quarterbacks, and Hiruma decided to play this up. He was actually nice and had simply told him that they could talk about it on Monday. He walked away from the ever reddening pair and decided that his time had been well spent that day.

As he left the park his phone rang. He quickly pulled in out and began an infuriating conversation with their fucking manager. She was all worried about the pipsqueak, so he told her he was fine and in very good, not to mention skilled, hands. Closing his phone he laughed whilst she obviously continued to call back. He ignored her until eventually she got the hint and stopped calling him. He took an earlier train home and simply smirked at the days events. He had gotten the coach the team had needed and a little blackmail to boot. This was a little different however as Hiruma thought about the couple he had just ambushed on what was obviously their first date. For all of Hiruma's bashing he was slightly glad that the pipsqueak had found a girl; he was also quick to admit that they seemed like two sides of the same coin. He chuckled to himself at the memory of both of them bowing and all their formalities before the Christmas Bowl only a short time before; so he decided that he actually approved of this little development. Karin was obviously made from a mold that had been created simply for the purpose of making the pipsqueak a girl and vise versa. He was also particularly in favor of this due to the boys other possible choices. There was that crazy little cheerleader whom he seemingly had a small attraction to but, fortunately, it had been passing. Then there was the fucking manager but that only made him laugh; and the rest of the train passengers shivered for reasons they didn't know. Finally there was the string of girls that assaulted him everyday at school, Hiruma was almost enough to scare them away when he was there but he needed a more permanent solution, and Karin was it. Hiruma doubted that there was another girl in all of Japan who would be as perfect for the boy then her, or as unbelievably hard to get rid of. If all of his intelligence on the girl from the Christmas Bowl was true and she was as tenacious as the pipsqueak then she wouldn't be driven away by anything less then a typhoon; and even then maybe not.

As Hiruma exited the train and began to go towards the domicile he called home he couldn't help but wonder if when this little bit of information got out, and Hiruma assured himself that eventually it would with or without his help, if it would start a trend amongst his teammates. With the idiots sister now going to Deimon and a proper cheerleading quad being formed as he spoke it was very likely that any girl in school that wanted to date a member of the team would be on it. He entered his home and fell on his soft bed and went out like a light. Tonight his head would be filled with the cheers of another Christmas Bowl appearance, the cementing of his legacy at Deimon, and the rhythmic bouncing of beautiful bosomed cheerleaders.

He spent his Sunday going over the plans and construction for the Devil's Den and was pleased to see that it was going faster then expected. The team's new equipment had arrived and, despite not originally being on the plans, the coach's new office was amongst the finished sections of the team's new facility. Soon enough Monday came and Hiruma was ready to get the pipsqueaks blood boiling. Apparently the trend had already begun as Kurita couldn't wait to tell him all about the date that he had that weekend; much to Hiruma's displeasure. At lunch he had been quietly pulled aside by the pipsqueak and they had begun to discuss just what he had been doing there that day. Hiruma felt no need to explain but did anyway, much to the boy's relief. Although he hadn't been there to spy on him he still knew about Karin and Hiruma loved watching the boy stand up for himself and try to convince him to not tell anyone. Hiruma told him that he would do as he pleased, but in this case their goals were mutual. He seemed very thankful for that as the color began to return to his face and the sweet stopped pouring form his forehead.

"So" Hiruma pondered to Sena with a little grin on his face.

"How was the rest of your little date?"


	7. Sena 3

Chapter 7

Sena had woken up quite early on Saturday in order to arrive at a decent hour so he and Karin could have as much of the day together as they possibly could. Unfortunately for him this was not as easy as he had though. For the first time in his life he agonized about what he was going to wear and things like that. It took him an hour to decide on a new pair of jeans his mother had just gotten him the day before and a nice button up shirt. He sat silently eating an early breakfast until his mother came downstairs followed by his sleepy father. His mother was gushing about her boy having a date and his father was trying to help his son but was mainly hiding behind that day's newspaper. He had tried hard not to let his mother find out about his date with Karin but she was persistent. She had insisted that that day he go with her to visit some of her old friends for the afternoon. Of course her old friends were actually all the mothers she knew with daughters, so it was basically an ambush; he had finally admitted defeat and told his mother that that day he already had a date; big mistake. His mother was ecstatic and began to demand to know all about the girl who had finally snagged her darling little boy. Sena had been very reluctant at first, insisting they wanted some privacy. It was when she said that she would just call and ask Mamori that he spilled to her. He told her all about going to Osaka and the amusement park, and of course Karin. His mother didn't understand why they wanted discretion about it but her husband eventually convinced her.

As Sena was preparing to leave his mother had stopped him and began pushing a magazine into his face. It was an old copy of American Football Monthly and it had been peeled open to a page about Karin. His mother had huge stars in her eyes as she commented on what a beautiful girl Sena had managed to find; and for once Sena had to actually agree with his mother. Karin wasn't the flashy girl who flaunted what she had in a way that was designed to make men drool, she wasn't the homely girl who sat in the back of class and spent her time in the library; no Karin was right in the middle. She had a beauty that would put her at the top of any class of girls but she carried herself with her shy personality and kept herself underrated, which Sena though allowed her personality, the personality her had become infatuated with, to shine through. As he left the house he could see and hear his mother gushing as she read off information contained within the profile. Sena walked to the train station and boarded his train, anxious to grab a little sleep on the long ride to his date.

The train glided silently as Sena watched the scenery blow past him at an amazing speed. The tranquil countryside calmed him as the last rip to Osaka with Monta had not exactly been all that calm; not with their place in the Christmas Bowl secured and possibly the hardest game of their lives awaiting them. Sena was broke from his musing by the ringing of his cell phone; he frowned as he listened to his mother on the other end as she tried to give him more advice about his first date. Like a polite son he listened and added the occasional alright and such but she was beginning to annoy him. She had also insisted that he bring Karin home with him so she could meet her; Sena shivered at that prospect. Not only was it not really feasible with the four hour train ride in between them, but he was sure not going to allow his mother to scare Karin away; and that was exactly what meeting her was sure to do. He remedied the awkward situation by faking some static and pretending to lose his mothers signal. He chuckled to himself as he turned off his phone entirely and decided to leave it off until he got home late that evening; if anyone actually needed him they would simply have to wait as he had a far more important person to entertain.

Some time later the train pulled into the Osaka station and people began to file in and out of the massive train cars. Sena made his way through the huge crowds and out of the platform onto the streets. The chilly wind blew through his hair and against his face as he pulled his jacket a little tighter, unfortunately it wasn't the nicest day outside but hopefully that would only push the two together more; for body heat of course. He made his way to the entrance of the park where he and Karin were due to meet. She arrived a few minuets later sporting a shy smile and rosy cheeks that Sena couldn't distinguish as being caused by the cold or their date; which made him obtain matching cheeks. Her long golden hair was pulled back into a large ponytail that swayed with her as she walked. Her dark jacket and small leather gloves matched nicely and the Teikoku crest stood out across her chest. He felt his heart speed up as she closed the gap between them. They quickly exchanged pleasantries and he seized her hand and entered the park.

The date was going amazing the two had shared many stories about their lives and exchanged so much information. Sena was beginning to really like her as she moved closer to him, holding his arm as they walked through the park. They tried almost every ride and game; his mother had insisted on giving him a huge wad of cash so that they could have a good time. Each and every ride they laughed with each other and there was a definite spark and heat that Sena could feel, and by the way Karin was looking at him she felt it to. It was during an exchange of stories, this one about Sena's overbearing mother, that whilst Karin laughed they stopped at a particular carnival game. The goal of the game was apparently to throw a football through various targets, some moving some stationary and others that were quite a long way off. The game was surrounded by children wanting the huge stuffed prizes but obviously looking dejected. Karin whispered into his ear that only a really skilled person could win and the game was fixed. Sena frowned and insisted he fix it, Karin thought it was a bad idea and unfortunately while he was a good running back his quarterback skills were lacking. They shared a laugh as Karin explained she had watched tape of their victory over the Dinosaurs and Sena was slightly embarrassed; however she assured him he did his best. Sena smiled and then suggested she show the crooked vendor her skills. She was reluctant at first until two kids failed at the game and started crying. Sena approached the booth and laid done a challenge if his date could hit every target then every stuffed prize was his, and if she missed even one there was a substantial amount of money for the vendor. The man was reluctant until he saw the shy Karin standing there waiting; his chuckles echoed as he agreed. A small crowd gathered as Karin removed her jacket and gloves and placed then in Sena's arms. Rolling up her sleeves her slender fingers gripped the ball and prepared to launch it. Many boys were laughing until her first five powerful tosses went perfectly on target. She continued ball after ball hitting their targets the small children cheered. The operator lost all color in his face as Sena noticed he had seen the crest of Karin's jacket and smirked as the apparent realization had spread through the crowd. He heard whispers about the empires quarterback and just sat back and smiled. In the end she threw perfect and the two collected every toy in the stand. Sena smiled at Karin as she redressed and the two handed out all the toys to the children who had been cheated; of course they kept two for themselves. She received a stuffed Devil Bat, which Sena found as being at the carnival in the first place, while he kept a stuffed Roman woman wearing a toga. They had a good little laugh as the crowd began to disappear and Sena mentioned that he was suppose to be winning the prizes. Karin apparently found this funny as she chuckled highlighting her beautiful smile. Sena seized this as his chance and he held Karin close. Her eyes widened and before he could kiss her she surprised him entirely. She moved her lips foreword first and caught his surprised lips in a soft and gentle kiss; the surprise quickly wore off and he kissed her back. It was a minuet or so later that they pulled apart, their faces each with rosy red cheeks and smiles. Sena was about to say something as he paled from a maniacal laughter coming from the crowd.

The laugh originated from Hiruma as he stalked towards the two from the crowd. He approached the pair and was actually casual. Sena introduced him to Karin and he was polite; despite the "we will talk about this on Monday pipsqueak" that flowed from his mouth as he left. Karin understood why he was very nervous as she had heard stories of Hiruma and his horrible blackmail schemes. They finished their day a little later as Karin walked Sena to his train. He really didn't want to go but he needed to. Their departure was quite as Sena told Karin what a great time he had and she reciprocated the feelings. Sena asked if she wanted to do this again and the shy girl responded with a definite yes. Sena smiled as this time he leaned in and captured a kiss from her. This one lasted much longer then the last and definitely showed that she wanted that second date; as they departed Sena could still taste her sweet lips on his mouth. She waved a little goodbye and told him she had fun. Sena entered his train and waved goodbye as his train pulled out of the station. He collapsed into his seat with a goofy grin on his face; despite Hiruma being a slight dark spot his day could not have been better. The grin on his face lasted until he fell asleep late that night; his new stuffed reminder of Karin sitting on his shelf.

On Sunday Sena had decided to sleep in; unfortunately his mother had other ideas. She woke him up bright and early yearning for information about his day. Instead he went for his run hopping that she would calm down; wishful thinking. When he arrived home she just went on and on about this and that; he could barley enjoy his breakfast or his shower. In the afternoon he finally turned on his cell phone and was astonished at the activity it had received while being off. Mamori herself had left six messages, each seemingly more desperate then the last wanting to know about where he was and what he was doing that he couldn't have his phone on. He called her back and explained that his phone had gone haywire and shocked him; he really hoped she would accept it, and she did. He spent the rest of his day talking with Karin on his phone after seeing he had a text message from her telling him how much fun she had with him. When he hung up with her he heard the commotion downstairs of Mamori; cursing he pretended to be asleep at his desk. It did work, but it took her a few minuets of nosey snooping before she left. Sena sighed and wondered why she still felt as though he needed her protection; he just shook his head and went to bed early that night.

Monday soon came and school once again was what Sena would have to deal with all day. His mother again had made breakfast unbearable, as she had the day before and probably would until he moved out, with questions about the girl who her son seemed so enamored with. To his credit he gave her very little information about the date other then it had been very pleasant and they would be making many more plans together in the future. Sena did however conveniently decide to leave the kisses out of his information he could only imagine what she would do if she knew about those, they would be, for now at least, a private pleasure for the two of them and no one else. Despite only receiving very little information his mother was on a euphoric high even as Sena left for school. He walked early as to avoid Mamori, and more importantly for now Suzuna. He didn't want to deal with anyone until he and spoken with Hiruma. Now despite his legs turning to jell-o around the quarterback; funny how two blond quarterbacks did that to him, only for different reasons, he was going to discuss with him exactly what had happened that Saturday and what, if anything, Hiruma was planning to do about it.

Sena arrived at school, to the usually hellos and such from his teammates and friends, but also to the frantic students trying to get his autograph, him to join their club, or date them. Sena had to use his great speed and fortunately got to his locker and slipped into his seat only a moment before their teacher arrived. A large group of girls then passed by the door and looked although they were about to enter, but the presence of his teacher forced them to turn around and possibly try to get to him later. His lessons that day had been slow and rather boring as Sena actually knew what his teacher was talking about and had been able to answer the three questions that he had been called upon to answer. Soon enough it was lunchtime and as he exited outside to eat with the others he was ambushed; this time it was three girls from the school's journalism club. The three were giggly and trying to get an interview, which he assumed was their code for date, from him. He tried to say no, but before he could they were scared away by a tremendous crash that allowed Sena to escape to the table, where they dared not approach. Sena would later learn that the HA-HA Brothers had used garbage can lids as symbols; he definitely thanked them for that, even though they did it not just to save him but because they were just a little jealous of all the female attention that he was receiving.

The table's conversation was lighthearted and exactly what Sena needed after what seemed like a never-ending morning of mind numbing school work and avoiding the fruits of his popularity. There was some great news spreading at the table as apparently Kurita's date had gone wonderfully and he was already planning more. With these thoughts his phone beeped at him with a message from Karin. Since their date they had been speaking regularly through various means and he had already made another date with her; just talking with her made him remember the sweet taste of her lips. Their two kisses hadn't lasted long but they were enough to make him hopelessly addicted. It was then that he spotted Hiruma coming to lunch and, gathering his courage, pulled him aside and started his long dreaded conversation with him. Apparently Hiruma wasn't as bad as he though, he had been in Osaka to recruit a coach for the team; who incidentally would be starting in time for the main tryouts for the team in the coming weeks. Sena felt relieved by the fact that he wasn't spying on them, nor did he have any plans to out the couple, unless of course his play suffered because of her.

Hiruma's flat out question concerning his date had been a little more straightforward then he had been expecting, but he decided to answer him none the less. His date had been wonderful and the start of something great. Hiruma's low chuckles still bothered Sena but he though maybe it was just jealously, as with Hiruma's reputation there was probably no girl in all of Japan that would be willing to date him. He finished with simply saying that it was the first of many dates, drawing a smirk from Hiruma as they returned to the table and continued with a mix of eating lunch and conversing with the team.


	8. Sena's mother

Chapter 8

Kobayakawa Akira was a simple woman who never really wanted all that much from life. She had grown up in a simple household without brothers or sisters and with a father who worked hard for what they had; her only real friend for many years had been her mother. With her influence and the subsequent success of her friends she had been given a template of what she should, and did, want from her life. She wasn't greedy so what she wanted seemed completely reasonable by her standards; although her husband never seemed to agree with her on this. She wanted a modest home, nothing really big and fancy but something where she could entertain and be proud of. She wanted a husband who could keep her life together and provide for her; she wanted a social life that brought her status and pride, but most of all she wanted children. Akira didn't want just any children either; she wanted children who she should be proud of and who she could continuously brag about to her friends; unfortunately she didn't quite get all of what she wanted.

She had found a wonderful loving husband and a house that she could clean and busy herself with, and a group of friends with whom she enjoyed hanging around with; the only real part of her life that hadn't turned out as she had planned was her children. Originally she wanted two, maybe three but something always happens and as a result of many different intervening factors she and her husband had stopped after the birth of their first son, Sena.

When Akira had begun throwing up every morning she had only a smile on her face and her husband wore an expression that to this day she could never really describe. When they went to the doctor the following day Akira could only smile with glee as what she had though had only been confirmed; she was pregnant. For months she was in a giddy euphoria filled with mood swings and cravings. A few months into her pregnancy was one of her fondest memories and she remembered her husband and her sitting in the car on the way home from yet another doctor's appointment. They had just been told they would be having a boy and Akira was excitingly happy as she was the first of her circle of friends to have a boy. The following months were filled with hectic messes and stress until that faithful day in December when her son, Kobayakawa Sena was born.

Now Akira perhaps had to high of aspirations for her son, now that she had thought back to the joyous day of his birth, but after 56 hours of labor she had earned the right to have high hopes for him. It was not that she didn't love her son, she most definitely did, but she couldn't help but feel disappointed in him. All of her friends had beautiful children who excelled in whatever they did, while Sena was at the opposite end of this spectrum. He wasn't the most handsome boy in school nor was he the most popular, or smart. He didn't have a girlfriend or, to be honest, many friends at all. He was always a scared solitary baby, her husband called him shy, she though otherwise. He never made any friend or went to activities or joined clubs so he was always home and Akira could never make out why her son seemed to be the only student struggling so much.

Akira was beginning to think that she simply wasn't pushing him hard enough but then things changed. His grades rose a little since he started attending Deimon and he was even the member of a sports club. A biggest surprise came when she could actually say she was proud of him and bragged to all her friends. Her son, poor little Sena, was the great Eyeshield 21, the star player of his school's American Football Club; they had even won their game and gotten to the very prestigious championships. Akira was shocked her little son was so fast and so good; but that wore off as she began soaking up the praise the mother of a star athlete got. All her friends began to call and tell her how much Sena had grown and what a good job she had done. It got even better for her after they went and won the Christmas Bowl and her son's name was chanted allover town.

Now her son was the athlete, the friend, and the young man she had always wanted. The only aspect that she couldn't seem to break him of was his apparent fear of girls. Since revealing himself to be the team superstar they had been calling and mobbing him at school every chance they got; and she loved it. Sena however seemed to be rather peeved with the attention. He would say he wasn't home when he was and slam the door or gate and run to his room as she heard the cheers of girls, whom apparently had finally figured out where they lived. She sighed, it was probably to be expected; Sena had only Mamori as a female friend for so many years and no other girls ever seemed to come near him. She remembered telling him Mamori would make a fine girlfriend, but he replied with an uncharacteristic laugh.

"She's just an old friend mom" she remembered him saying with a hint of disgust in his voice

"Besides" he added as he climbed the stairs

"I think there's someone much better for her then me" he added with a smile as he climbed the stairs.

Akira knew Mamori didn't have a boyfriend, her mother would have called and gossiped about it, but it seemed as though Sena was destined to be alone. She remembered one morning when she told him he should be dating Taki Suzuna; to put it mildly he results could have been better. She though that the petite little cheerleader would be perfect for her son, but apparently he though much different. It had been at breakfast one morning she had casually mentioned it to him. The result was Sena nearly chocking on his toast after spraying the majority of it out of his mouth and across the table and right into his father's face; why did he have to choose that point in time to lower his newspaper?

"Honey are you ok?" she remembered asking him, patting his back to ensure he didn't chock on any leftover food.

"No, no I'm fine" he responded quickly

"But really mom Suzuna is just a friend" he said passing his father a napkin and apologizing profusely for what had happened.

"Well I'm just saying, she's a cheerleader you're an athlete; I though that's how it was suppose to go" she said innocently, all the while watching her son shake his head, in what she would later learn was disgust.

"Just because it's like that on TV and in manga doesn't mean it will happen in real life. I'm going to be late" he said in a rush out the door.

Akira couldn't understand her son, any teenage boy in his right mind would love a horde of girls chasing them everywhere they go; not to mention their own personal cheerleader. Sena needed a girlfriend and that was simply that. He needed to know what it was like to have someone with whom we could be himself, someone with whom he could go and have a meal with and laugh and joke, someone who he could be close to and evolve with. She still remembered memories of walking with her husband while they were dating, their arms intertwined, her head on his shoulder and their fingers interlaced; she only wanted these same things for Sena; and maybe a grandchild, or two, or four. She decided to fix this and force her son to see what he was missing whether he liked it or not. She vowed that one night soon she would come home and find her son cuddling with some cute girl on the coach, her head on his shoulder and his arm around hers. Their faces would be seemingly painted with an innocent smile despite the messy mops that were their hair; of course this was so obviously a sign that something else had been happening before she entered their home.

She devised a plan and confronted her son one Friday morning; he was going to accompany her to her friend's home the next day. There she would gather all her friends' daughters and lock them up with her son until he had a girlfriend. It was probably cruel and unusual, but she believed desperate times called for desperate measures. When she told him he began to squirm and refuse, but she applied pressure and told him it was happening. He said he had plans but with one threat about asking Mamori he spilled. The words that came from his mouth next were the greatest five words she had ever heard.

"I already have a date" he said quietly

She nearly fell over when she heard this news. Her son had a date and from the information she pried out of him she was a cute little number, he was going all the way to Osaka the next day to see her. She instantly gave him a large wad of money and told him to treat her like a princess. She had a grin on her face the rest of the day and had even bragged to her friends about it; many of whom were glad, but at the same time several were just a little sad as their daughter lost their chance to date him. The morning of the date she hurried downstairs and continued to pry him for information, unfortunately all she got was a name, Karin. As Sena prepared to leave she chased after him grabbing a magazine off the counter as she had seen before. She peeled open the magazine to the picture of a really cute girl named Karin. She was delighted as she read the article while Sena began to leave; as he had confirmed that was his date; this Karin girl was obviously perfect for her son. She had remembered seeing her at the Christmas Bowl, not as a spectator, or cheerleader, or manager but as a player; she was a quarterback of the Alexanders.

She was about Sena's size and a beautiful girl who seemed to appear as shy as her son was. Her long golden hair was pulled back into the ponytail she had seen dangling from her helmet at the game. She was dressed in clothes that Akira could tell were expensive and was an absolute beauty that never in a million years would she have though would date her son. Even after Sena had left she decided to bother him again. She called his cell phone and began to give him all sorts of advice, like pulling out her chair, and to keep his elbows off his table, and stuff like that. She was going to tell him to make sure that when he kissed her he was mindful of where his hands wondered, if he wanted another date that is, but she was cut off from static.

She tried repeatedly to call back but she couldn't get a hold of him; dejected she fell onto the couch and began to read all about his son's new love interest. She read every aspect that had been written on the girl and if her son had been there he would have told her she was being a stalker; she even locked at some picture of the girl that were on the American Football Monthly magazines website. She was so intense that only the phone interrupted her all day. It was Mamori wondering where Sena was; now she would tell her but she had promised her son she wouldn't so she simply told her she was too late and he was out for the day. Hanging up she smirked to herself; Mamori's mother had been privileged to the gossip about Sena's date, but obviously she believed it was Sena's place to tell her daughter about it.

When Akira went to bed that night she heard her son come in but decided to pester him the next morning. She closed her eyes and dreams of Sena and Karin popped into her head. All her "research" had told her quite a bit about the girl with whom her son had spent the day. She was from a nice family and had a mother that she was sure to get along with, an influential father who was an American Football fan, and a brother; whom she really couldn't care less about. She was as talented as she was beautiful and all accounts and interviews concerning her, which were surprisingly few and far between, told her that this girl was possibly as shy as her son was and perhaps that commonality would force both of them out of their shells and together.

Sunday morning she awoke early and made a large breakfast to bribe her son for details. He returned form his run and she bombarded him with questions. He was rather annoyed, especially when she was yelling at him while he showered; she guessed that it was alright for him to be a little annoyed by that. He finally yielded some small information after about an hour of her torment.

"Yes we had fun mother" he said, although labored.

"Well I'm only trying to be a good mother" she replied, trying to get more from him then he was obviously willing to give her.

"I'm sorry" he said.

"We had a nice time alright, and thanks for the money; it really helped" he said leaving for his room.

Akira smiled as she went about her busy work for the day. Sena hadn't told her everything but she could tell it had gone well. She hadn't said anything but just the way he talked about her made his lips curl into a smile and Akira remembered when she had felt like that. Akira hadn't gotten the chance to ask, but she knew that her son had gotten a kiss from Karin; she really didn't have to ask it was just women's intuition. When she was upstairs she even heard him on the phone with her; she wasn't stupid or anything so she knew that this was going to be a great thing for Sena. It was a little while later that the doorbell rang.

"Hello Mrs. Kobayakawa' the visitor said in a small voice.

"Why hello Mamori" she replied as she ushered the girl inside.

"Is Sena home?" she asked with a glint of hope in her eyes.

"He's in his room" she said.

The girl went upstairs and came back down about five minuets later with a dejected look on her face.

"He's asleep" she said

"On I'm sorry dear" Akira said smiling at her sly son. She had heard him walking around only a short time before Mamori arrived.

"No that's ok. I'll just see him at school tomorrow" she said closing the door lightly behind her

Akira smirked as she heard her son stir from upstairs. Mamori was definitely going to be surprised when she found out what extracurricular activities her son had taken up.


	9. Heracles

Thank you everyone for the reviews and response to the story. It has been a very busy and hectic time with school and everything so here is a short chapter. Yamata, Taka, and Achilles will be coming soon.

Chapter 9

Heracles strutted through the halls with a large grin on his face. Today he was showing around a group of middle school students who were interested in attending the school, many for its American Football program. His current group was being surprisingly well behaved in comparison to the group he had in the morning. They had been running everywhere and were definitely not the schools kind of students. They had nearly broken one student's leg when he fell down some stairs and another student had her ass slapped, but they couldn't tell which one of the greasy little munchkins had done it so they had to leave it with some threatening words from him.

His current group was mainly girls and even though he had his head turned he could tell that they were making dreamy eyes at him and every other member of the male student body but he didn't really care at the moment. Their tour took then throughout the entire school with Heracles pointing out the wonderful sights and advantages to their great school. They had just reentered the school from touring the grounds when his attention was drawn away from his duties. He was intrigued by the roving crowds of the football team that were searching the halls. He left his group to his female counterpart Chloe, a Canadian exchange student, who was going to show them around more and went to follow the roving gangs.

Ducking behind the occasional wall Heracles watched as the groups found random male members of the school's population and began questioning them. Some groups left the poor boys in shock, others left them in heaps of the floor, and still others looked enraged and joined the roaming groups. Heracles could obviously tell that the boys were searching for something, or someone but whom or what still puzzled him. He followed them until he finally got his answer, one he definitely hadn't thought of himself.

Several of the groups had come together and he could hear their conversations.

"You find him?" one skinny student said.

"No" another replied looking rather dejected.

"Well Achilles-sempai said whoever finds him gets a reward" one student replied.

Heracles recognized the last student as Hakado, a second year and second string member of the football team. He was a good player but Heracles had found out that the only reason he had joined was to try and get a date with Karin. Unfortunately about three quarters of the team felt the same way, including Achilles.

"Never mind the reward" another student shouted.

"We need to find this guy and see what's so special about him" he added

"Yeah" resounded as a yell from the group.

"Yeah, I should be dating Karin" one of the first years in the group stated.

A small fight broke out in the group as they continued to argue about Karin. Heracles walked away shaking his head in disbelief. All of this trouble had been caused simply by Karin, apparently actually going on a date. He knew very well that Achilles had one of the schools biggest crushes on her and it had sometimes gotten out of hand.

Heracles had to silence the boy before the Christmas Bowl when he was about to ask her out. It wasn't that he shouldn't try to date her, but his timing could not have been worse. Karin certainly didn't need that kind of thing on her mind right before her biggest game of the year. He knew that she had taken their lose quite hard, but in the past few days she had been more upbeat and smiling, she had even taken to being more social and less shy then before. Heracles couldn't understand it until Yamata had told him that he should just let it go, of course he had a smirk so he knew there was something else to it but he didn't press the issue any.

Now he knew the truth, Achilles was hunting down someone who had obviously gotten further with Karin then he had and this was unacceptable to him. Heracles set out to find Yamata and talk to him about this issue and of course to help him confront Achilles about this. He had no issue with anyone dating Karin, she was his friend after all, but he wasn't about to hunt down the poor boy and intimidate him; well he might but he would be doing it as a friend not as someone trying to date her.


	10. Achellies

Chapter 10

Achilles walked through the halls of school confident and poised for victory. The baldheaded teen strolled confidently into his homeroom and readied himself for that day's decisive victory.

He ignored completely what his teacher was saying because his mind was far more focused; today we would ask Karin to be his girlfriend. He had waited for long enough to declare his love for the petite quarterback and nothing was going to stop him from becoming the envy of each and every boy in the school.

In fact all of the girls would probably thank him too because now all of the boys would move on from Karin and settle with them.

His grin was unmistakable as he walked down the hall, strutting his stuff as though he was the Emperor himself. He spent the better part of the first hour at school looking for Karin, but finally found her in the library with one of her only female friends, Rukia.

Achilles was about to turn the corner and talk with her when he herd the words that made his blood run cold.

"So how was the date?" Rukia questioned

"It was wonderful" Karin replied s milling.

Achilles leaned in closer as he tried to hear more of the conversation.

"We went to the amusement park and had a wonderful afternoon"

"Sounds nice" Rukia replied

"So do I know him?" she added grinning.

"No" Karin replied. "But this is our little secret, it can't get out yet"

"Or your adoring masses will riot and probably crucify the poor boy" Rukia replied laughing.

Karin was mortified.

"On I am just joking Karin. My lips are sealed"

The conversation continued as Achilles left dejected. He had been beaten to the punch by some loser who obviously wasnt good enough for their school's star quarterback.

He stormed out and grabbed the first low level member of the team he could and ordered him to gather the troops, that Karin's honour was on the line and it was their duty to protect her.

He ran off quickly and before long returned with an army of students who would do anything that they were asked to.

Achilles smiled devilishly as he barked the truth to them, their faces turned from shock to anger so quick it would make a man's neck snap. They then, in a fever of mob mentality went off into the school.

They began to confront each and every boy they could find and soon they would find Karin's mystery date and teach him to take what was his.

XXX

Ok a little short but I got it out and now I will be trying very hard to get chapters out. I have the rest of the story laid out so review.


End file.
